Trust
by RedSoxChic193
Summary: It's the gang's 2 month anniversary of being stranded and things are starting to heat up. Emotions run high, secrets are told, and, yes, there is romance! ND, JM, ET. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Anniversary

Trust

Chapter 1- Anniversary

- - - - - - - Nathan;s Video Diary - - - - - - -

"Day 56."

(sighs)

"I just can't believe that it's been 2 months since we crashed. 2 months since we've seen the others. It seems like so long ago that Captain Russell and the others were leaving, promising they'd be back soon (so much for that). 

"So much has happened since that day. What with the storms and sicknesses and injuries and drama, the time we've been stranded here has gone by so fast, it's hard to believe. In the past 8 weeks so much has changed, but they all haven't been good changes. And it might just be a coincidence, but it's our 2 month anniversary, and things are starting to get pretty strange around here."

- - - - - - - End of Diary - - - - - - -

That morning everyone was finishing breakfast when Daley addressed the group: "Alright, I've got jobs for today. We're running low on firewood and food, so Jackson, Nathan, you are going to be in charge of collecting some wood." Jackson and Nathan nodded. Daley continued, "Taylor, your job is going to be fishing, and Mel,…"

"I'll find some fruit," she said.

"Okay," Daley said, "Lex is going to work on the shelter, and Eric, your job is lugging water from the well."

Eric sighed. He had known what was coming.

- - - - - - - Eric's Video Diary - - - - - - -

"Why do I always get stuck with that stupid job? I'd take just about anything else right now…. Why is it always me?"

- - - - - - - End of Diary - - - - - - -

29DWN

Daley heard shouting as she emerged from the tent and sighed when she recognized the voices- Taylor and Eric were arguing for some reason or other.

Really, she thought, the rest of us don't have time to listen to their stupid arguments.

She paused when she thought of two people who used to argue even more than Taylor and Eric did.

She and Nathan had been in competition for as long as she could remember. Whether it was class elections or elections for leader of the castaways, the two of them had fought over everything. Nathan and Daley had only recently made an aggreement not to argue anymore, and since then Daley's feelings for Nathan had changed….

- - - - - - - Daley's Video Diary - - - - - - -

"When Nathan and I were in competition, we couldn't have a simple conversation without an argument breaking out, and looking back on that now, I realize how ridiculous we were. I'm so glad we're friends now, but I still don't know what to think….

I really like Nathan- and I mean I really like Nathan- as more than a friend. But you already know that.. And now that I feel this way, my head is spinning- could underneath all the fighting have been my strong feelings for Nathan, hidden all along? And does he still like me the way I like him? I wish I knew what he thinks of me now, or what he's been thinking at all- he's been so distant lately.

I just….. Oh, I don't know what to do." Daley sighed and turned the camera off.

- - - - - - - End of Diary - - - - - - -

29DWN

"Nathan, I could use a hand with this wood."

Jackson and Nathan were searching for wood in the forest. Jackson had found some, but Nathan seemed to be lost, sitting on a rock and staring into space.

"Nathan!"

"Wha- What?"

"The wood- could you help me out?" Jackson repeated.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I just-…"

"It's Daley, isn't it?" Jackson asked with a small smile.

Nathan looked at him in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"Well," Jackson said, "because you've been so out of it lately, and whenever Daley's been around you've been acting so weird." Jackson paused as he sat down next to Nathan. "And because I've been going through the same thing with Melissa."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one," Nathan told him.

"Me, too," Jackson replied, and they both sighed.

They sat there in silence for a minute, and then Jackson asked Nathan, "So, any ideas?"

"No," Nathan sighed. "What about you?"

"Not one," Jackson answered.

29DWN

Lex was sitting on a log back at camp, staring at his updated shelter blueprints in confusion. He just couldn't understand it- why wasn't this working?

I knew it- I made it too complicated, Lex thought. Now I'll have to start all over again.

He sighed as he folded up the paper.

"Lex!"

Lex turned around and saw Daley running toward him.

"Lex, you've gotta see this!" 


	2. Thoughts and Secrets

Chapter 2- Thoughts and Secrets

"Lex you've got to see this!" Daley exclaimed.

Lex abandoned his blueprints and followed Daley across camp and into the woods. They soon came to an opening and Daley stopped. Lex couldn't believe his eyes…

"My garden!" Lex cried.

He was looking at rows and rows of vegetables: peas, squash, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and corn had all grown in the place of the little green leaves that had recently been there.

"But how did they grow?" Lex asked. "I gave up on them a month ago!"

"I don't know," Daley said curiously. "Maybe they grew on their own and didn't need help. Or maybe someone took over for you…"

Nathan and Jackson emerged from the trees.

"Hey guys," Nathan began. "What's… whoa!" his eyes widened as he noticed the vegetables.

"Lex, this is incredible!" Jackson added. "But I thought you gave up on this?"

"I did," Lex replied. "We were just wondering how they grew."

Melissa, Taylor and Eric all arrived and wondered the same thing.

"But who cares how they grew?" Eric said. "What matters is that they did grow!"

"Daley said, "You're right. What's important is that we have enough food to last us months!"

Everyone agreed, and they all got back to work.

29DWN

Nathan sat by the plane, staring out into the ocean and lost in thought. He had one thing on his mind- the one thing he had been thinking about for weeks- Daley. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't stop thinking about her…

"Hey, Nathan."

Nathan turned and saw Melissa standing next to him.

"Hey," he greeted her. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much," Melissa said. She noticed that his gaze was unfocused and he was staring at the sand. She frowned. "Anything wrong?"

"No," Nathan replied. "Just…. thinking."

"About what?"

"Well, about…. Daley."

Melissa sighed as she sat down next to him.

"I just can't get her out of my mind!" Nathan explained. "I just, I don't know what to do about all this. I want to talk to her, tell her how I feel, but I don't want her to say what I'm afraid she'll say……." Nathan sighed. "I guess I'll just have to go with what happens as it happens, because, right now, I have no idea what I'm gonna do…."

Mel gave his hand a squeeze. "It'll all turn out fine, don't worry."

Nathan smiled at her. "Thanks, Mel."

29DWN

Everyone had a good lunch of fruits and vegetables fresh from the garden, and afterwards they all sat around camp relaxing. Daley and Lex played a card game, Jackson worked on writing a song, Nathan carved a spear to fish with, Melissa read a book, Eric took a nap and Taylor flicked through a magazine. Soon, though, the fire died out because no one was paying it any attention. Everyone then found something to do around camp. Jackson asked of the group, " Could someone go out and find some wood to keep the fire going? Seeing as we didn't actually get any this morning?" He exchanged looks with Nathan.

"I'll go," Daley volunteered.

"I'll come with you," Nathan said, jumping up to go with her.

They went into the forest and started searching. Soon they had enough wood to last them for days. They sat down on a rock to rest.

"We did good," Daley said, looking at what they had collected.

"Yeah," Nathan said, shifting throught the pile. "We'll have enough to last us for awhile."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before deciding to head back to camp. Nathan had started to gather the wood when he heard a soft "Ouch!"

He turned around and saw that Daley's hair was caught on a branch and she couldn't go anywhere. He smiled at her and said, "Hold on, I'll help you."

Daley's heart warmed up when his smile beamed her way. She sighed happily as Nathan came over to her and looked her knotted hair over.

"Wow," Nathan said. "It's caught on there pretty good. Might have to cut some of this off…"

"What?!" Daley cried, her eyes widening.

Nathan laughed. "Don't worry, Day, I'm joking."

Daley couldn't help but smile. She just loved his laugh- it was contagious. When she was having a bad day, he could always find a way to cheer her up.

'Oh, come on, Daley, just tell him you like him,' Daley thought.

She blushed as she watched Nathan trying to get her hair untangled from the branch.

Nathan wasn't only concentrating on Daley's hair- he was trying not to get lost gazing into her eyes. He could get lost in her eyes forever- staring into those beautiful, silver- blue eyes was something he never got tired of. He was not really succeeding in what he was trying to do-or not to do- he accidentally pulled Daley's hair, to which Daley responded with a soft "Ow!"

"Sorry!" Nathan said quickly. 'Get it together, Nathan,' Nathan thought as he continued with the knot. "Almost got it… yep, there you go!"

"Thanks," Daley smiled at him.

"No problem," Nathan said as he smiled back.

They stood there for a moment, gazing into each others eyes, when Daley said "Listen, Nathan, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about…"

"What is it?" Nathan asked her, a slight look of concern appearing on his face.

"Well, this is kind of weird to tell you, but it's been on my mind so much lately… and… well…. Nathan… I've realized that…" She was interrupted when Nathan leaned in and kissed her. She was shocked at first, but then she kissed him back, and they didn't break apart until air was needed.

"…I love you," Daley finished breathlessly.

Nathan smiled and kissed her again, and many more erupted from that. When they pulled apart they were both smiling.

"I love you, too," Nathan told her, putting his forhead against hers. "I think I always have, Daley, but I just haven't realized it until now…"

Daley kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck. In return, Nathan hands found Daley's waist. After a few minutes, Nathan interrupted and said reluctantly, "We should probably get back to camp. The others will be wondering what happened to us."

"Yeah, okay," Daley replied, giving Nathan her puppy- dog face,

"Aww," Nathan said. "Don't give me that look, please, I'm weak, I'm…" He trailed off helplessly as Daley continued to give him the look. "Oh, I can't help it!" he finished, and their lips collided again. Nathan grabbed Daley by the waist and brought her closer to him as their kisses got more passionate by the second. During a pause Nathan said, "Daley, I love you so much. There's nothing I want more on this world than to be with you." He paused, then said, "And right now, there's nothing I want more than to keep holding onto you-" Daley kissed him again, and when they pulled apart, she said, "Me, too," and they kissed again.

29DWN

"Where have you two been?" Jackson asked as Nathan and Daley walked into camp a half hour later.

Nathan and Daley exchanged looks. "Uh,…" Nathan started, as he gently put the wood he was carrying on the ground. "It took a little longer to find this than we expected…" Jackson nodded and Nathan and Daley exchanged looks again.

"Where is everybody?" asked Daley, noticing that they were the only ones at camp.

"Um… Mel is doing some laundry, and Lex ran off to the garden, but I'm not sure about Eric or Taylor…-" Jackson was cut short by a sudden screaming. Taylor came up to them and demanded, "Where's Eric?"

"Don't know," Jackson replied. "Why?"

Before she answered, Taylor had taken off angrily.

Jackson, Nathan and Daley looked at each other in confusion. Jackson shrugged and left. Nathan and Daley sat down next to each other and smiled. Nathan wrapped is arm around Daley and kissed her on the forehead. Daley laid her head on Nathan's shoulder and said, "I love you."

Nathan smiled and said, "I love you, too," and he pulled her closer to him and rested his head on hers.

29DWN

"ERIC!"

'Uh oh,' Eric thought. 'Taylor's on a rampage.' 

He got up and started to creep away when Taylor stormed up to him and screamed, "Eric, you idiot!"

Eric sighed and turned around to face her. "What now, Taylor?" he asked, annoyed. This was the fourth time in two days that Taylor had gotten frustrated with him, and he was getting tired of it.

"Like you don't know!" Taylor said, but she didn't wait for an answer. "Where's my pink skirt?"

Eric froze. "Umm……. Did you ask Nathan?"

"Don't mess with me!" I know you took it! You told me about your-" Taylor lowered her voice- "'problem'… yesterday! So you can just give it back, already!" She paused. "On second thought, I don't want it back if you've been wearing it! Make sure you wash it- twice- before you give it back!" And she stormed away.

Eric watched her go, thinking, 'Girls. They have the emotional range of a teaspoon.'

'You'd think these boys would learn their lesson from wearing wet shorts!' Taylor thought, annoyed. 'First Nathan, now Eric?! And what do I look like? Some sort of personal skirt store?! Urgh!'

29DWN

Lex filled the cup with water again and carefully poured it over the plants. When he heard footsteps coming from behind him he turned around. "Hey, Day," he greeted his sister.

Daley absolutely beamed at him. "Hi, Lex! How's the garden?"

"Great," Lex answered.

"Great!" Daley said cheerfully, still smiling. "Haven't things just been going so great lately? Isn't it awesome?"

"Yeah…" Lex said slowly. Daley was being much more cheerful than usual, and Lex was curious of the reason. "Any reason why you're so happy?" he asked, a small smile appearing on his face.

Daley snapped out of a trance. "What? Oh, no,…" She smiled again and sighed happily. "Today's just been going really well, that's all!"

"Okay," said Lex, still thinking.

"Well, I'm going to go see if Nathan needs any help back at camp. Bye, Lex!" Daley set off, humming to herself.

Lex watched her go, smiling. He loved seeing his sister so happy, but he still couldn't help but wonder what had caused her to be so perky all of a sudden. He could tell there was something going on inside her head…

29DWN

A few hours later, Jackson sat on the shore, watching the water spash his feet and absentmindedly drawing in the sand with a stick. He dropped the stick, sighed, and laid his head back on the sand.

His head was spinning. His mind was battling with thoughts and questions. He was lost; lost in Melissa. He really liked her. A lot. He'd never felt this way about anyone before. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but he wasn't sure how things would work out. He didn't know if she felt the way he did- Taylor and Eric had broadcasted Melissa's tape for everyone to hear, and it had revealed that she liked Jackson. But that had been months ago- who knew if she still felt that way? And even if she did, would they be able to have a relationship on the island? Jackson thought that having a relationship on the island would cause too much drama. After Eric and Taylor had revealed Melissa's secret, Jackson had told Melissa that when they got rescued they could be together. But months had gone by since then, and Jackson was starting to get impatient. He had strong feelings for Melissa, and he really wanted to be with her. Besides, who knew when they would be rescued?

Jackson was staring up at the darkening sky, thoughts still racing through his mind, when he heard a familiar voice greet him.

"Hi, Jackson."

He sat up and turned around. Melissa was standing there, and they both smiled when their eyes met.

"Hey," Jackson greeted Melissa.

'Now's as good as any other time,' Jackson thought. 'Just say, 'Melissa, I like you.' No, that's stupid!' he realized. 'It needs to be more romantic than just, 'I like you.' You need to let her know you really care about her…

He hadn't realized how long he had been silent until Melissa said, "Jackson…?"

Jackson snapped into focus. "What? Oh… sorry, what were you saying?"

"Dinner's ready… are you okay?"

"Um, yeah, I'm fine, I just, it's been- kinda a long day and everything, and I- I was just- I've been kinda- you know…" Jackson stuttered out.

Melissa looked a little confused, but all the same she smiled. "I guess… you coming to dinner?"

"Yeah," Jackson told her. "Yeah, probably, it's just… I… I'm… well-….. it's kinda… yeah," he finished hopelessly. When she continued to stare at him with a look of mingled confusion and curiosity, he said, "Yeah…… I'll be right there."

"Okay," Mel said, and giving him one last concerned look, she left.

'Way to go, Jackson,' Jackson thought. 'That was real smooth.'

He sighed and got up to follow her back to camp.

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There's chapter 2 for ya! What will happen between Mel and Jackson? Will he tell her how he feels, or wait until they get rescued? To find out, keep reading! And, review, too!! If I don't get reviews, I don't post the next chapter! 


	3. AN please read!

AN

Hey guys!! sorry I haven't been updating lately!! I've been so busy with school, basketball, and of COURSE Christmas, so I haven't really had time to update. Right now I've written some of chapter 3, but I haven't gotten the chance to type it up. now I need your opinions on something. I will either:

A- Post what I do have of Chapter 3 (even though it's short) and then type up the rest, which will become Chapter 4,

or

B- finish writing Chapter 3 and then post it, which would probably be after Christmas.

It's your choice, so review and give your opinions, because I really don't know what to do!

Merry Christmas to all!!

-RedSoxChic193 


	4. What's Going On?

Hey guys!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. As I said, I've been really busy lately, but now I've finally had the chance to update. Since the "vote" was really close, and I really can't wait any longer, I'm gonna update now with what I already have of the chapter. So here it is! Chapter 3! Hope you guys like it!  
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Chapter 3- What's Going On?

Day 57- Morning

- - - - - - - Nathan's Video Diary - - - - - - -

"Wow, yesterday was…" Nathan searched for the right word. "…amazing!" He smiled as he thought back to what had happened the previous day. "It was the best day of my life. It started when Daley and I were just out looking for firewood, and next thing I knew, we were kissing, and… now we're together," he finished, still smiling. "I still can't believe it! I've been going crazy over my feelings for Daley ever since we crashed, and now, to hear from her that she loves me back, it's just… it's the best feeling in the world." He sighed happily. "Now we can actually relax and… wait, we can't relax!" he realized. "No one knows about this, and with Jackson's 'no couples rule,' if anyone found out…" he shuddered. " It wouldn't be good."

- - - - - - - End of Diary - - - - - - -

Everyone was sitting around camp after breakfast. Well, everyone but Nathan and Daley, who were nowhere to be found. Lex was struggling with the shelter blueprints again, Melissa was doing laundry, and Taylor and Eric were in the tent. Jackson watched the scene thoughtfully, listening to music on the group's MP3 player.

Everything was peaceful, until…

"I don't see why you just won't grow up!"

"ME?! You're the one that's flipping out!"

Jackson, Melissa and Lex exchanged glances as Taylor and Eric emerged from the tent, shouting at each other.

"At least I have a good reason!" Taylor yelled at Eric.

"What reason?!" Eric demanded.

"What are you talking about, you know perfectly well what reason!"

"No, I don't think I do!"

"You're such an idiot, Eric!"

"Oh, am I? I wouldn't be talking, miss-"

"STOP!" Jackson screamed, pushing the two of them apart. "What is up with you two?!"

"Eric's being an idiot, that's what!" Taylor screamed, trying to get at Eric, but Jackson pushed her backwards.

"And you're not?" Eric retorted.

"Just- stop!" Jackson said, calming down a little. "You're driving us all crazy with your constant arguing! Can't you two just forgive and forget?"

Eric and Taylor stood with their arms crossed, throwing each other dirty looks, just as Nathan and Daley walked in.

"Hey guys," Nathan said. He stopped as he looked around, seeing Taylor and Eric standing there, arms crossed, not looking at each other, with Jackson standing between them, looking from one to the other. "What's going on?" he asked, frowning slightly.

There was a pause, then Taylor said, "Nothing," and she walked away, still not looking at Eric.

Eric left as well, going down to the beach and away from Taylor. Daley and Nathan exchanged confused looks.

"What was that all about?" Daley asked, looking around at Jackson, Melissa and Lex.

"No clue," Jackson said. Then his eyes wandered from Daley to Nathan, and he asked, "Where have you two been?"

"Uh…" Nathan stuttered. "Just… out picking fruit." He and Daley glanced at each other.

"Okay," Mel said. "So where is it?"

"Oh!" Daley cried. "We left it under that tree! C'mon, Nathan," and she grabbed Nathan's arm and they ran off.

The others exchanged looks. Lex frowned as he thought about what was going on…

- - - - - - - Lex's Video Diary - - - - - - -

"Daley and Nathan have been acting really weird lately. They're always running off someplace or other and they're acting secretive. And they've been… well…. flirting! It's really weird! I know they're up to something…"

- - - - - - - End of Video Diary - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - Daley's Video Diary - - - - - - -

"Yesterday was great!" She sighed. "Nathan and I… we're…" She looks around to make sure no one is near. "…together!" she says exitedly. "I'm so happy, but it'll be tough keeping it a secret. The others are already suspicious, and I'm not sure how long we can keep this up. But for Nathan, I'll do anything."

- - - - - - - End of Video Diary - - - - - - -

29DWN

Taylor sat reading a magazine at camp, watching everyone go about their chores.

'I am so bored,' she thought.

Eric walked by, carrying two jugs full of water.

'Wow, Eric actually looks kinda cute today,' Taylor observed to herself. 'I wonder if he thinks I'm cute… maybe he even thinks I'm sexy!' Taylor thought, smiling. 'Who wouldn't? After all, I am me!'

She watched Daley as she walked into the jungle.

'Nathan and Daley have been acting weird lately,' Taylor thought. 'I wonder what's going on between them? They've been flirting a lot…'

Nathan walked up to Taylor to see very strange expressions on her face. She was smiling and nodding, a thoughtful look on her face. Nathan frowned. "Hey, Taylor."

"I wonder if Nathan thinks Daley's sexy?" Taylor thought, or at least she meant to.

"WHAT?!" Nathan exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"Did I say that outloud?" asked Taylor, a panicked look on her face.

"Uh, yeah, you did," Nathan said, his heart beating wildly.

"Oh…" said Taylor, looking embarrassed. "…well…" she suddenly said, a smile creeping onto her face. "…do you think Daley's sexy?"

"Uh…" Nathan began. "I- I- I gotta go…" he stuttered out as he began to back away. "Uh… gotta take care of… something… bye!" and he ran away.

Taylor smirked again. 'Now, what does that tell ya?' she thought.

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So, did you guys like it? Hate it? Not sure? thanks for the reviews to:

dinolove453

WhenPicklesFly

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loversflame

mnu 304 girl

orbid

SPIKESGIRL02

CorbinBleuRoxMySox

ToriBabe15

and

bigmacsparky

all your reviews are appreciated!! without reviews, I don't continue! so click that purple button and tell me what you think! Thanks, guys!!

-Erin, AKA RedSoxChic193


	5. A NotSoOrdinary Day

Hey guys!! Sorry it took so long to update, I've been so busy with other things. But here it is, chapter 4! Enjoy!

Chapter 4- A Not-So-Ordinary Day

Jackson arrived back at camp, carrying the fish he had caught.. He sat down on a log and started to clean them, one by one.

He was on the third one when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He jumped a mile and looked around. Melissa was standing over him, grinning. "Hey, Jackson."

"Oh, Mel, you scared me," Jackson replied, grinning himself.

"Sorry," she said as she sat down next to him.

"No problem... what are you up to?"

"Well, I'm supposed to be boiling and filtering the water, but since Eric hasn't actually gotten any yet..."

"You're stuck doing nothing," Jackson finished for Melissa with a small smile.

"Exactly," Melissa said, smiling back at him. She noticed the fish he was cleaning. "And how'd you get stuck doing that?" she asked him.

"Ah," he said, a sly smile appearing on his face. "Well, everyone else was way to busy all of a sudden."

Melissa laughed and looked at her watch. "Eric won't be back for another... eight minutes, so I have nothing to do until then..."

Jackson looked up at her in amazement. "How on earth would you know that?"

"Because I know Eric," Melissa explained. "Plus, I've been working with him on the water ever since you became leader, so by now I've gotten used to these things..."

Jackson shook his head in amazement and went back to cleaning the fish. It was unbelievable what being stranded with six other kids could do...

There was silence, and suddenly Jackson found himself feeling awkward. He was thankful when Melissa broke the silence.

"Here, let me clean some of those."

Jackson handed her two fish and said, "Thanks."

She smiled at him. "No problem," she said, and they sat in silence cleaning the fish for a few more minutes. When they were done, Melissa said, "Let's go put these away," refering to the tools used to clean the fish (AN- I have no idea what they would have used). Jackson nodded and the two of them got up.

They were headed towards the tent when suddenly Melissa tripped and fell backwards. She let out a small cry but suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders. She looked up and saw Jackson looking down at her. He had darted forward and caught her at the last moment.

Melissa smiled and said, "Thanks."

"No problem," he replied as he set her back on her feet. Jackson didn't, however, release his hold on Melissa. Neither did she. They gazed into each other's eyes, and Melissa felt a shiver go up her spine.

"Jackson-" she started, but he interrupted her by gently pressing his lips against hers. After a moment she began to kiss him back, and after a few more they broke apart and smiled at each other.

"Melissa," Jackson said, "I really like you- a lot."

"I like you, too, Jackson," Mel replied, and Jackson gave her a peck on the cheek, which made her blush.

"But," Melissa began, looking confused, "I don't understand. What about your 'no relationships' rule?"

Jackson sighed. "Oh, that," he began. "Well, I thought that, with relationships here, we would have too much of a risk of falling apart, and things would be too weird. So I didn't think that relationships here were a good idea." He paused for a minute, and then added, "But that's a chance I'm willing to take with you. I really care about you, Mel."

Melissa smiled at him. 'Oh, he's so sweet!' she thought. 'And cute, especially when he's like this...'

"I love you, Mel," Jackson said, not looking away from her beautiful eyes.

"I love you, too," Melissa replied, and they kissed again, this one more passionate than the other, until Melissa pulled away and checked her watch again.

"Three, two, one,..." she said, and she completely let go of Jackson as Eric appeared with two jugs of water in his hands.

"I know, I know," Eric said to Mel before she even opened her mouth. She smiled and started, "And don't-"

"I won't forget," Eric interrupted her as he picked up the two empty jugs and disappeared into the jungle.

"Wow," Jackson said in awe. He paused and then said, "You two should go out."

Melissa laughed and gave him a hug. Jackson smiled and wrapped his arms around her. Then Mel said with a smile, "But you wouldn't like that very much, would you?"

"You have no idea," Jackson replied as he kissed her forehead.

29DWN

The rest of the day went by in a blur for the group. Everyone was hard at work on the new shelter. Lex, who was working on the blueprints and was sitting down at the fireplace, was observing the others as they worked. Jackson and Melissa kept whispering quietly to each other and looking cautiously at the others. Then they would sneak away for a few moments and return grinning but acting as though nothing had happened. Taylor and Eric were teasing each other, doing nothing to help as usual. Nathan and Daley were working together and were also whispering to each other. One would break away from the group and then come back a few moments later, and then go back, bringing the other with them. As Lex watched his friends, he felt as if he were missing something, something that the others all seemed to have. He thought about it for a moment and then brushed it off, knowing it was probably nothing.

That night, though, when they all drifted off to sleep, Lex tossed and turned as he dreamed...

LEX'S DREAM

Lex came up from the beach, looking excited about something. He looked around for signs of anyone else, but no one was around. He walked up to camp where he saw Eric and Taylor fooling around. He went up to them. "Guys! Guess what I found!"

"Stop it!" Taylor squealed as Eric squirted water at her.

"Guys!" Lex tried again. "Guess what-"

"Make me!" Eric cut him off.

"I will!" Taylor yelled back at him, and she jumped on Eric and tackled him.

Lex sighed and walked away. He hadn't expected Taylor or Eric to listen, anyway. He went looking until he found Jackson and Melissa.

"Hey! You'll never guess what I found! It's-"

"Not now, Lex," Melissa moaned as Jackson massaged her gently.

"But-"

"Lex," Jackson said as he wrapped his arms around Melissa, "Why don't you go see if there's anything else you can do around here?"

"But-"

"Go ahead," Melissa said. "You'll find something to do."

"But, Jackson-" Lex cried. Why weren't they listening to him?

"Later, Lex," Jackson said firmly, and he started whispering in Melissa's ear and she began to giggle.

Lex turned away in bewilderment, wondering why they were all ignoring him. Then he found someone who was sure to listen to him.

"Daley!"

Daley didn't show any signs of hearing him as he ran up to her.

"Hey, Daley, guess what I-"

"Not now, Lex," Daley replied, still not looking at him.

"But I have news and no one else is-"

"Hey, Day," Nathan said, coming up from behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Hey," she said, giggling as he ran kisses down her neck.

"Nathan! Daley!" Lex cried. "This is important!"

"It can wait, can't it?" Nathan asked as Daley cuddled up to him.

"No! It can't! Why won't you listen to me?"

"Go find Jackson," Daley said. "Talk to him."

"I already did! He was-"

"Or Melissa or Eric or Taylor..."

"They're all-"

"Lex," Daley said, sounding annoyed, "I don't have time for this. Neither do the others. Just go away and leave us all alone."

"But, Daley-" Lex was once again cut off.

"Go, Lex," Nathan said, throwing him a look.

"Yeah, Lex," Melissa said, appearing with Jackson.

"Get off this island!" Taylor said, appearing with Eric.

Suddenly, Lex was blown backwards, away from them all. They were back to what they were doing, not appearing to even notice that Lex was gone.

"NO!" Lex cried, trying to get back to them.

"NO!" Lex screamed as he sat up. Panting heavily, he looked around and sighed- he was still in the tent. He checked to see if he had woken anyone up. Next to him was Taylor, and next to her, Melissa, then Jackson, then Eric, then Nathan, and finally Daley, who sat up and looked at him with concern.

"Are you okay, Lex?" she asked him.

Lex, who was still panting, answered her. "Yeah... yeah, I'm okay. Just a nightmare."

"Are you sure?" Daley still looked concerned.

Lex nodded, and Daley laid back down, facing away from Lex.

Lex sighed as he tried to drift off to sleep again. But something kept him awake. No matter how hard he tried to stop thinking about it, he couldn't stop wondering if his nightmare would come true.

29DWN

The next day, everyone set back to work, all doing their separate jobs. Melissa kept the fire going, collected wood and boiled & filtered the water that an unhappy Eric lugged from the well. Taylor lay sunbathing on the beach with the battery charger next to her. Nathan and Daley went out hunting for food, while Jackson saw that everything was done, doing anything else that came up. Lex, who was very tired from the previous night, had fallen asleep in his breakfast and was sleeping in the tent.

Everyone (including Lex when he awoke) worked hard that day on everything from the shelter to the food hunting, and everyone was exhausted when they were finished. Eric had collapsed into a chair and was sleeping. Taylor was reading a magazine and Lex was gazing into the fire. The others were nowhere to be found...

With Jackson and Melissa

"Wow, am I beat," Jackson said to Melissa as they walked through the jungle.

"Me, too," Melissa replied. "We all worked hard today."

"Well, maybe we deserve a rest, then," Jackson suggested, and they stopped at a clearing and sat down on a boulder.

"Maybe we deserve a little something else, too," Melissa said seductively, and they kissed passionately. Things heated up, and soon it had turned into a full make- out session. They were so caught- up in each other that they didn't have another care in the world...

"Jackson?!"

"Melissa?!"

The two broke apart, their eyes widening, as they heard those two familiar voices. They turned around to see Nathan and Daley standing there, hand in hand, staring back at them.

Cliffhanger!! So you guys like it?? Press the purple button and review!! 


	6. Decisions

**Hey guys!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I finally got the chance to post the new chapter. Hope you like it!**

_**Recap:**_

_"Wow, am I beat," Jackson said to Melissa as they walked through the jungle._

_"Me, too," Melissa replied. "We all worked hard today."_

_"Well, maybe we deserve a rest, then," Jackson suggested, and they stopped at a clearing and sat down on a boulder._

_"Maybe we deserve a little something else, too," Melissa said seductively, and they kissed passionately. Things heated up, and soon it had turned into a full make- out session. They were so caught- up in each other that they didn't have another care in the world..._

_"Jackson?!"_

_"Melissa?!"_

_The two broke apart, their eyes widening, as they heard those two familiar voices. They turned around to see Nathan and Daley standing there, hand in hand, staring back at them._

Jackson and Melissa stared at Daley and Nathan, who were going red in the face, and Daley and Nathan stared back at Jackson and Melissa, who were drawing away from each other. There was a very awkward silence as all four blushed furiously.

"Um,…" Jackson stuttered.

"Uh,…" Daley started.

"Yeah," Nathan sighed. "This is awkward."

"No kidding," Melissa said, smoothing out her hair.

After a pause, Nathan said, "Well, you got us," and he sat down on another rock.

"And you got us," Jackson replied.

Nathan buried his face in his hands and shook his head. If he hadn't been so embarrassed he would have been very curious about Jackson and Melissa, although he was as bad as they were.

"I can't believe we thought we'd get away with this," he said, not scolding Daley so much as himself.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Nathan," Mel said looking with concern at her friend. "We all kept it from everyone- we're all to blame."

Nathan just shook his head again and ignored her. Daley, concerned, put her hand comfortingly on his shoulder and said, "Jackson, we're-"

"Don't even start to apologize," Jackson cut her off. "I've been breaking my own rule, so there's no reason for you two to feel guilty." He turned to look at Nathan, knowing that something was bothering him other than guilt. He gave him a questioning look, and Nathan nodded in return. Jackson turned back to the girls and asked, "Hey, could we have a minute?"

Daley and Melissa exchanged a glance, but nodded, and they got up and walked away, leaving the boys alone.

When the girls were gone, Nathan let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair. Jackson looked at him and at once knew he wasn't the same Nathan he usually was. Jackson sat down next to Nathan and spoke to him. "Nathan, man, what's up?" he asked.

Nathan looked up at him, and Jackson saw that his eyes were bloodshot and his face was red. Nathan hesitated for a moment and then simply said, "I can't do this, Jackson." Jackson looked at him in shock.

"What?" he asked, "What do you-"

"I can't take it anymore," Nathan told him. "We've been stuck here for two months, not knowing when rescue is going to come or even if it will come. We've been living off of the same fish and fruit that, for all we know, could vanish any day. We've been isolated without friends or family or any type of communication with the outside world. We don't know if the pilot and the others are okay, we don't know what else is on this island and we don't know if they're still looking for us! It's all too much to handle! I don't know how much more of this I can take!"

He paused, breathing heavily. Jackson listened to him intently, letting him vent.

"And now," Nathan continued, calming down a bit, "I don't know what to do about Daley. It's all just so overwhelming…"

"Wait a minute," Jackson said, "What are you thinking about Daley?"

Nathan sighed. "Jackson, you were right from the start. Having relationships on this island is too complicated. If we broke up it would be totally awkward and it would ruin our friendship. I'm starting to think that maybe…" He broke off for a moment and then said, "What if I hurt her? If all the stress got to me, I might take it out on her, and then I'd never be able to live with myself. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt her." He broke off again, shaking his head.

Jackson looked at him and said, "Nathan, how much do you care about Daley?"

"More than anything," Nathan replied. "I don't think I could find the right words…"

"Well," Jackson said, "If you really care about Daley as much as I think you do, you'll know what you have to do. Just listen to your heart. And as for all that other stress, hey, it happens. But we're all here together, and we need to stick together in order to pull through this. We've done a good job as of now, and we'll make it if we keep it up."

Nathan looked up at him again and smiled. "Thanks, man," he said. "I needed that."

"No problem," Jackson said as the girls walked back over to them.

"You guys alright?" Daley asked.

"Yeah," Nathan said reassuringly to her.

Melissa, who was sitting next to Jackson again, said, "So….. what are we going to do about…… all this?"

They all exchanged glances, and Jackson said, "Good question."

They sat in silence for a moment, thinking about their predicament.

"Well," Jackson said thoughtfully, "On one hand, we could keep it a secret from everyone and do what we have been doing…"

"But on the other hand," Daley continued for him, "If they found out…"

"Exactly," Jackson said, nodding.

"And if we did tell them…" Melissa began.

"It'd be totally awkward," Nathan finished for her.

"We're not in a very good situation, are we?" Daley asked.

"No," Jackson sighed, "We're not."

They all sat thinking for several more minutes. Finally, Nathan said, "You know what, guys? They're going to find out, anyway, one way or another. It'd probably be better if they heard it from us."

They all exchanged looks, and they knew Nathan was right.

"So, we tell them?" Melissa asked.

Nathan sighed and took Daley's hand in his. "Yeah," he said, "We tell them.

**Short, I know, but it's finally done!! Remember the reviews!!! They're really appreciated!! Next chapter up soon, I promise!! Thanks guys!!**


	7. One Interruption Too Many

**Hey, guys, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a LONG time but I have been VERY busy and I've been working on other stories along with this one. I've worked hard on this chapter and I really hope you like it! So, here it is! Enjoy!**

"What?!" Taylor cried out.

"You're- you're kidding me, right?" Eric said, straining a laugh.

Lex just sat in silence, staring with wide eyes at Jackson, Melissa, Nathan, and Daley.

Jackson sighed and rolled his eyes- this was proving to be harder than he thought it would be. "No, Eric," he said, "I'm not. The 'no relationships' rule doesn't matter anymore."

"Which means," Eric said, staring from Melissa and Jackson to Daley and Nathan, obviously very amused, "That you guys are…"

"Yes, Eric," said Daley, irritated. "We are."

Eric sat down, grinning. He chuckled, shaking his head. He then said, "I knew this would happen eventually."

"Eric," said Melissa, "Don't even start."

Eric ignored her. "No way were you guys gonna last until we got rescued," he continued.

"Eric-" Daley began, but he cut her off.

"It was only a matter of time…"

"SHUT UP!" Nathan yelled. He was on his feet, rounding on Eric. He had been silent the entire time, so everyone was shocked by his sudden outburst. Lex, Taylor, and Melissa all jumped, Daley's eyes shot over to Nathan, and Eric was looking at him nervously, as if he were crazy. Jackson, the only one who seemed unaffected, was staring at Nathan carefully.

"Touchy," Eric said, still staring at Nathan. This earned him a glare from Nathan as he strode away. Eric looked at the others in confusion. "What's his problem?" he asked.

Daley hardly heard him. She was staring after Nathan as he walked away from them all. She was about to go after him when Jackson stopped her. "Give him some time," he said, and she nodded, still staring at Nathan, wondering what could be wrong.

**- - - - - - - Daley's Video Diary - - - - - - -**

"This is so frustrating! Everything has been going wrong today! I can't take it!"

**- - - - - - End of Diary - - - - - - -**

**29DWN**

Daley was walking along the path to the fruit trees that afternoon, letting out some steam. She needed to figure out what was bothering Nathan all of a sudden. She was deep in thought when suddenly something caught her eye. Nathan was sitting on a log a few yards away with his back to her. He appeared to be in a trance, sitting stone still. Daley walked over and sat down next to him, which made him come out of his trance and recognize her presence. He gave her a small smile and greeted her. Daley smiled and greeted him back, and there was silence for a few moments before she spoke again. "Are you okay?"

He looked up at her and said, "Yeah. Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well," said Daley carefully, "What happened back at camp…" She broke off.

Nathan stared at her, remembering. "Oh," he said, "That."

He sighed and then said, "Daley, I can't lie to you. The truth is, lately being stuck here has really gotten to me. What if they don't find us in time? What if they never come at all? What would happen then? And what would happen to us? I just don't want to let you down. And I'm afraid that after a while, I'll go insane and do something stupid… and the last thing I would want to do is hurt you…. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner… I just…" He broke off when she kissed him gently. She pulled away and said, "Nathan, I'm glad you told me. It means a lot that you can come to me with things like this."

They kissed again, and for a few minutes they were unaware of what was going on around them, that is until they heard a voice come from behind them, "Uh…."

They turned to see Taylor standing there, staring at them.

"Uh," she said again, starting to walk away, "I guess I'll just…. leave you two alone…" and she quickly left.

Daley and Nathan just looked at each other.

"Well," Nathan said, "That was awkward."

"Yeah," Daley replied, and with that they embraced again, but only to hear another voice address them, minutes later.

"Hey, guys- whoa," Jackson said, noticing Daley and Nathan. "Bad time," and he turned back around and walked away.

Nathan and Daley looked at each other, annoyed.

"So," Nathan said after a moment, "Where were we?" and they leaned in. When they were only inches apart, they heard yet another familiar voice.

"Hey, Daley, Nathan," came Lex's voice. They both sighed and broke apart.

"You guys gotta- oops," he broke off, and he took off again.

"Okay," Nathan said, "This is starting to get annoying."

"Yeah," Daley said. "Maybe we should-"

"Daley, Nathan," came Mel's voice as she approached them.

"Oh my-" Nathan began, but Daley cut him off.

"Mel," she said, "We were kinda hoping for some privacy,… if you don't mind…"

"Ohh…… right," Melissa replied, and she walked away.

Nathan sighed. "If we get one more interruption-"

"Not gonna happen," Daley told him, and Nathan shrugged and kissed her again. It was finally looking as if they were alone at last, when suddenly-

"Get a room!" Eric shouted at them.

Nathan broke away from Daley and turned to stare at Eric.

"I suggest you run," he said, staring him down.

"Ha, okay," Eric said, "Don't make me laugh."

"Three-" Nathan began.

"Oooh, I'm so scared!"

"Two-"

"The little pretty-boy boyscout is gonna-"

And Nathan dived at him. Eric took off, with Nathan right behind him.

Daley smiled to herself as she watched them. She felt at ease, knowing that she had cleared things up with Nathan. But before the day was over, she had one more person to sort things out with…

**29DWN**

Daley made her way out of the jungle and spotted Lex sitting at the fireplace, looking dejected. She smiled sadly, knowing that she was the cause of the way he was feeling. She walked over to him, sat down next to him, and put her hand on his shoulder. "Look, Lex," she began, "I'm sorry for keeping all this from you. I should have told you in the first place. I know you would have trusted me, but now you probably don't."

Lex looked up at her. "That's not true," he said. "Of course I trust you, Daley, but, the thing is…" he paused for a moment and sighed.

"What is it?" Daley asked him.

"Well," Lex began, "Remember how I had that nightmare the other night?"

"Yeah?" Daley asked, curious.

"Well, in it, you and Nathan were together. And Melissa and Jackson were together, and even Taylor and Eric were together. You were all so busy with each other that you forgot all about me. And, I was afraid of that nightmare coming true…" He broke off.

Daley sighed and said, "Oh, Lex, you know that could never happen. We all care about you, and we'd never do that. Especially me. I love you too much."

Lex smiled and hugged her. "I love you, too," he said.

When Daley drew away, she looked around with a frown. "Hey," she said, "Have you seen Nathan or Eric?"

"No," Lex told her, "Why do you ask?"

Daley smiled to herself and began, "Well…" but she was interrupted by Eric, who ran into camp, out of breath. He looked around cautiously, and then said to them, "Hey, have you guys seen-" when Nathan jumped on top of him and tackled him to the ground.

Lex and Daley looked and each other and laughed.

"It's a long story!" Daley told him as they watched Nathan and Eric wrestle on the ground.


	8. Lost

**Hey guys! Well, here's the next chapter! Just to let you know, this is going to be the second to last chapter. I'm writing a sequel, but I'll have more info on that after. Here's the chapter!**

The next day, everyone woke up feeling the best they had felt since the plane crash. Daley was content in knowing that she had worked things out with both Nathan and Lex, Melissa was happy that she and Jackson no longer had to sneak around to be together, and Jackson was just happy to see everyone else happy and conducting themselves wonderfully in their work. Even Eric didn't complain as he lugged all that water from the well, for he had confessed to Taylor his true feelings for her, and she had felt the same. A feeling of mutual happiness could be experienced throughout camp, and because of this, everything was going well.

It was mid-morning, and everyone was busy. Eric was lugging water and Taylor was boiling it. Melissa and Daley were collecting fruit and fishing. Nathan was sawing down trees and Jackson was trying to figure out how those trees could be of use to them.

Lex, meanwhile, was roaming the beach, looking for materials that they could use around camp. He wasn't having much luck, and he was about to head back to camp when he looked up at the sky and saw a massive, dark gray cloud rolling slowly toward the little island. Lex gasped, and turning around, he ran back to camp and screamed, "Guys! Come quick!"

Nathan, Daley, and Melissa heard him and came running out of the jungle. Jackson looked up from examining the trees, Taylor abandoned the fire, and Eric dropped the water jugs. All of them went over to Lex and began to question him.

"Lex, what is it?" Jackson asked.

"Look!" Lex cried, and the others looked up at the sky, where he was pointing. The enormous cloud was getting darker and approaching them, slowly but surely. They were all frozen and speechless, staring at the sky.

"Oh, man," Nathan said, the first to recover.

"That doesn't look good," Taylor said in awe.

"It's not," Lex told her. "A storm is coming, and it's not just any storm, either. It'll be worse than any we've had yet- if I'm right, it's a hurricane."

"Oh, no," began Daley. "That's not good. How long do you think until it hits, Lex?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Lex said carefully. "With a storm like that, it'll be likely to last for days, and it could come any time within a day or so."

"How does he know so much?" Eric asked of the others.

"That doesn't matter, right now we need to get ready for this storm!" Jackson said. "Mel, Daley, start collecting as much food as you can, we're gonna need it." Melissa and Daley nodded and got to work. "Eric, get as much water as you can carry, and Taylor, you boil and filter it."

"You got it, chief," Eric said, and they ran off.

"Lex, start gathering all our things together, but don't do anything else with them, and when you're done, come see me," Jackson told him, and he immediately set to work. Jackson then looked at Nathan and said, "You come with me."

Nathan followed him into the jungle, where Jackson began to collect three vines at a time and braid them together. Nathan watched Jackson work and tried to figure out what he was doing; he remembered doing that, but what it was done for… he couldn't remember. Jackson looked up and saw Nathan staring at him, and said, "Come on, Nathan, help me out here. You must know where I'm going with this."

Nathan found three vines and began to braid them together, still thinking. A few minutes later, however, he slowed down, looked up at Jackson, and then stopped braiding altogether.

"Jackson, we aren't going to move the plane, are we?"

"Yep, you and me, buddy," Jackson said, grimacing at him.

Nathan just stared at him with a dropped jaw as he continued to braid the vines.

"Nathan," Jackson said to him, "You know I can't do this on my own."

"What," Nathan asked of him, "you and me, by ourselves?" Jackson nodded. "Are you crazy?!"

"Come on, man, think about it!" Jackson said, walking over to him. "The storm's coming, and we have no idea when, which means that we have to get everything done as soon as we can." Nathan opened his mouth to interrupt, but Jackson didn't give him the chance. "Now," he said, raising his voice, "We need shelter to wait out the storm, and the only thing big and stable enough is the plane, which is down on the beach, and if we're not careful, it'll be swept away again, this time with us in it. But we also need to save all our things, and we need food and water. The others are taking care of that. That's their job. But our job, it's the most important one. There's no one else to do it but us. And if we don't do it, we're all done for." Jackson looked at him, waiting for him to answer. But Nathan just stared at Jackson, who said after a moment, "Do you think we can do it?"

"You bet we can!" Nathan said, getting back to braiding the vines.

Jackson smiled and also got back to work.

**29DWN**

The others were all busy with their tasks, as well. Eric was going double the speed than usual on the trips to and from the well, Taylor had about twenty bottles of water ready to go already, and Daley and Melissa had a good sized pile of fruit going near the shelter. Lex was just finishing gathering all their things together when Jackson and Nathan emerged from the jungle, each carrying a few long vines braided together.

"Jackson, I'm done," Lex called.

"Oh, good, help us out here, Lex," Jackson said as he and Nathan headed down to the plane.

When they got there, Jackson told Lex to tie the vines to the plane while he and Nathan went to fetch the logs that he finally found a use for- skids to help move the plane.

Soon the vines were tied, the skids were in place, and everything had been removed from the plane.

"What exactly are you two doing?" Lex asked cautiously.

"We're moving the plane so we can use it as a shelter," Nathan said.

"By yourselves?" Lex exclaimed. "No, not a good idea, I'll go get the others…"

"Lex," Jackson said, taking his arm, "They need to keep up with the food and water, and you need to help them."

"But-" Lex began, but Jackson cut him off.

"Lex, trust me," he said seriously, and Lex nodded and ran up to camp.

Jackson and Nathan exchanged looks. "Well," Nathan said, "You ready?"

"Let's do it," Jackson said, and they each took hold of a vine.

"One…" Nathan said.

Jackson flexed his hands and counted, "Two…"

Nathan braced himself and exchanged looks with Jackson, and they both shouted,

"Three!" and pulled as hard as they could.

**29DWN**

Back at camp, Taylor could see the sky getting darker, and she began to worry.

"Eric," she said, "Look at the sky."

Eric looked up and said, "Oh, man, if Jackson and Nathan don't get that plane up here soon-"

"I don't see why they won't let us help them," Taylor said. "It doesn't make sense!" Taylor and Eric's getting together had done wonders for both of them, and Taylor was now more caring than she had ever been.

"Because," Eric said, putting his arm around her, "We don't wanna starve, do we?"

Taylor sighed. "You're right. But I hope they can handle it."

Eric kissed her forehead and said, "Me, too," and they sat there together, thinking about their predicament.

**29DWN**

Meanwhile, Melissa and Daley were picking fruit in the jungle when Lex came up to them.

"Hey, Lex," Daley greeted him. She noticed the look on his face and asked, "Is anything wrong?"

Lex told them about what Jackson and Nathan had said, and Daley went crazy.

"By themselves?! Are they crazy?! They could get hurt! Why would they do that? Why didn't they ask us?"

"What did they say, Lex?" Melissa asked, calmer than Daley.

"That they were the only people that could do it, because we need food and the rest of us needed to get it, and to trust them and they'd be fine," Lex told them.

"Daley, that is true," Mel said. "They'll be fine, you don't need to worry."

"I guess so," said Daley after a moment. "But that doesn't stop me from worrying."

"Me, neither, Daley," Melissa said. "Me, neither."

**29DWN**

"You okay, Jackson?" Nathan called to him.

"Fine," Jackson answered with a grunt, lifting the log off his foot, which was now a little swollen.

Moving the plane had been, more or less, what they'd expected. They had managed to get it about halfway to where they'd wanted it. Although, Nathan was still nervous about moving it, for he had once been trapped beneath it, and only a few days later, cut on the ankle.

Nevertheless, they worked away, pulling the plane and moving the skids, pulling the plane and moving the skids, pulling the plane and moving the skids, with only a few cuts and bruises along the way. When they became discouraged, they simply looked up at the ever-darkening sky and set to work again.

Finally, they had gotten the plane far enough up the beach so that it wouldn't be washed away. Nathan dropped the vine and fell backwards, breathing a sigh of relief. Jackson collapsed next to him. Though exhausted, they were both proud of their accomplishment. The others all ran over to them when they noticed the plane up on the beach.

"You did it!" Daley cried, throwing her arms around Nathan.

"Of course we did," Nathan told her. "We told you we'd be fine." He looked around at the others, and then at Jackson, who seemed to be thinking what he was thinking.

"You guys weren't doubting us, were you?" Jackson asked them.

There was a pause, and then Melissa said, "Well, what's important is that you did it!"

There was suddenly a loud rumble of thunder that made them all come to realize that they didn't have much time. They began to load everything into the plane, which surprisingly didn't take much time. Just as they were finishing, it began to rain, and they all made a run for the plane.

"Oh, man," Eric said as he stretched out with a yawn. "That was some day. I'm beat."

"Me, too," Lex agreed.

"Well, it was all worth it," Jackson said.

"Yeah," Taylor said. "Now we can…" She broke off, looking around the plane carefully. She suddenly realized that something was wrong. "Where's Nathan?"

Everyone looked around and at once realized the same thing; Nathan was gone.

"Oh, no," Daley said, looking around wildly. "Oh, no, oh, no! Oh, Nathan!" She got up and went to the far end of the plane and called his name, but no luck. She ran around, screaming his name over and over. She even opened the plane door and ran outside. There was no sign of him.

"No!" she screamed. "Nathan, where are you?"

Jackson and Lex came outside and ran to Daley.

"Daley!" said Lex, trying to calm her down. "Day! Day! Listen to me! He's gone. He can't hear you."

"Where is he?" Daley demanded, now in tears. "Nathan, come back!" She ran to look down on the beach, then back. "Where could he be?" she asked Jackson and Lex.

"I don't know," Lex began, "But, Day-"

"What if something happened to him? What if he's lost out there? We have to go look for him!" she exclaimed, trying to run for the jungle. "We have to-"

"Daley," Jackson said, holding her back. "We can't go looking for him now. It's too dark to see. We have to wait until morning, that is if the storm's gona away-"

"No!" Daley cried. "Jackson, what if-"

"He'll be fine," Jackson cut her off. "I know Nathan, Daley, and he can take care of himself."

"But-"

"Come on, you two," Jackson said, and Daley reluctantly allowed him to take her inside.

That night, everyone was silent and no one could sleep. Jackson himself was having a hard time containing himself from taking off to look for Nathan, but he knew he couldn't at least until morning, because that would only make things worse. As he looked out into the storm, he hoped that Nathan was alright, for that was all he could do.

**Hope you guys liked it! Next chapter is the last! I'll get it up soon, plus more info on the sequel! And reviews would be much appreciated!!! This is the most important time for reviews, since I don't really know what your views on the story are right now. Thanks, guys!**


	9. The Foggy Future

**Well, here it is!! The last chapter of Trust! Sorry it took so long to post it, but I've been working really hard on this chapter and I really hope you like it, since it's the round-off to the story. Thanks for all the support and the reviews, they've really helped me to write this last chapter. All I can say now is, enjoy!!!**

Morning finally arrived, and the storm was still keeping up. Jackson awoke to a silent plane; everyone else was still asleep. He stretched, got up and crossed to the window. The wind was powerful, and the rain was heavy. He was beginning to worry, for he thought Nathan would be sure to turn up in the night, but he hadn't. Maybe they would have to go looking for him, after all. He'd been hoping they wouldn't, and that he'd turn up safe and sound before long. Jackson sighed and came away from the window. He looked around the plane.

Melissa was sleeping soundly next to Jackson's sleeping bag, Lex next to her on the other side, his head on her shoulder. Next to Lex was Taylor, who was resting on Eric. And finally, Jackson looked upon Daley's sleeping bag, only to discover it was empty.

Jackson gasped and ran over to the sleeping bag, just to make sure his tired eyes weren't seeing things, but Daley was gone.

"Eric, Taylor, Lex, Melissa! Wake up!" Jackson shouted.

"Jackson…. What….?" Lex asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Come on, chief, five more minutes?" Eric said with a yawn.

"Oh, get _up,_ Eric!" Jackson said, kicking him.

"Jackson, what is it?" Melissa asked him.

"Daley's gone," he told them worriedly.

"WHAT?!" Eric exclaimed, sitting straight up.

"Yeah, I woke up five minutes ago and she was missing," Jackson told them, pacing.

"Well, is her gear here?" Taylor asked.

"No, that's gone, too," Jackson replied.

"Do you think she…?" Eric broke off, but it didn't matter; they all knew what he was thinking.

"Went to look for Nathan?" Jackson finished for him. "I'm sure of it. And now she's out there, too."

"Oh, man," said Melissa.

"What should we do?" Taylor asked with a worried expression on her face.

"I don't know…" Jackson said, "We can't risk anyone else getting lost out there, we better just stay put and let Nathan and Daley find their way back. At least until the storm slows down." After an afterthought, he added, "They're strong, they'll make it." He glanced at Lex, who hadn't said a word the entire time, and gave him a small, reassuring smile, which he returned. Melissa wrapped her arms around Lex and gave him a hug.

"So…." said Taylor, "Now we wait."

"Now we wait," Jackson echoed her.

Waiting was the last thing any of them wanted to do at that moment, but they had no choice. Lex and Melissa played cards, Jackson read a book, and Taylor and Eric talked quietly together before lunch, in which they had, what else, but fruit and fish. After lunch, Eric took a nap, Taylor read a magazine, Jackson listened to music and Lex read a book, but the storm still pursued. Finally, Taylor couldn't take it anymore.

"That's it, I'm going out there!" she exclaimed, rising to her feet. This awoke Eric and caused everyone to look up at her.

"Taylor, no!" Jackson said, getting up and taking hold of her arm.

"Jackson," she said, "How can you just sit here when Nathan and Daley are out there alone?"

"Look," Jackson said to her, "I know it's hard. Believe me, I know. But we can't-"

"Sure we can!" Taylor exclaimed. "I'm not just gonna sit here and let them-" but she broke off as she looked up and saw a tall boy with bushy hair standing, soaking wet, in the doorway.

"Nathan!" Melissa cried, and she jumped up to hug him.

"Oh my gosh," Lex said as he got up. "Nathan, where have you been?"

"You had us all worried sick!" Taylor cried.

"Are you alright?" Eric asked him.

"Okay, okay," Jackson began, going to Nathan and putting an arm around him. "Let him breathe. Come on, Nathan, sit down…"

Jackson helped Nathan into the plane and over to one of the seats they had managed to fit in there.

"Are you hurt?" Jackson asked him.

"No," said Nathan. "Not really, well, just…" and he lifted his shirt to reveal a long, deep scratch across his chest that was bleeding. Taylor freaked out and Eric said, "Oh, please, Taylor…"

Jackson examined the cut and applied some antiseptic cream to it, as well as to some others Nathan had. They fed him and gave him water, and then Melissa asked, "What happened?"

Nathan sighed. "Well, yesterday when we were all putting everything in the plane, I realized I'd left my pack in the jungle, where I'd been cutting down trees. And it had everything in it, so I couldn't risk going on without it. So I ran back to get it, and that's when it started raining. I found my pack, but by then it was really raining hard. I thought I'd be able to make it back, but before I knew it, I couldn't see the path, so I decided to find shelter, hoping I'd do better the next day. The storm was still going strong when I woke up, so I waited awhile before I started off again. I didn't know exactly where I was going, and I still couldn't see, which why I walked into a couple trees and pricker-bushes… but a while later, I began to recognize everything, and then I ended up back here…"

"Wow," Taylor said. "You must be really tired!"

"Yeah, I-" Nathan broke off as he looked around. "Where's Daley?" he asked them.

The others exchanged glances at this, unsure of what to tell him. They all looked at Jackson, who glared back at them before saying, "Well, um,…. you see, Nathan, um…" He was obviously choosing his words very carefully. "What happened, was that, when you… um…" He looked helplessly at Lex.

"Well," Lex took over for him. "Well, when you went missing, Daley… um,… she kinda… well… she…… um…" Nathan was looking at him expectantly, so he had to tell him. "Oh, Nathan, she took off looking for you last night."

Nathan's expression turned from confused and unsure to shocked and worried in less than a second.

"What?" he cried. "She went looking for me in the middle of the night?" The others all nodded. "And now it's her who's lost out there." He sank to his knees. "This is all my fault," he said, staring at the floor.

"No it's not, "Jackson said. "We're the ones who didn't stop her."

"You couldn't have," Nathan said quietly. "You had no idea."

There was silence for a few minutes, and then Nathan stood up and said, "I've gotta go back out there, I've gotta find her."

"Nathan, you can't!" Jackson said, rising to his feet. "You're weak and you're tired. You'll get lost out there again-"

"I don't care!" Nathan cut him off. "Daley's lost now, and it's because of me. I'm not just gonna sit here and pray that she comes back soon. I have to go out there, Jackson." He looked him right in the eye as he said that, and finally Jackson gave in.

"Alright," he said, and Nathan smiled. "But you're not going alone this time."

Ten minutes later, Jackson and Nathan were preparing to go out into the storm. As he put the first- aid kit into his pack, Jackson said to Melissa, Taylor, Eric, and Lex, "None of you leave this plane. You'll be able to take care of yourselves, but we should be back before dark."

"And hopefully, we'll have Daley with us," Nathan added, as he and Jackson shouldered their backpacks and prepared to leave the plane.

"Just be careful, won't you?" Lex asked them, and Jackson and Nathan exchanged looks before smiling at him.

"Don't worry, Lex," Nathan said reassuringly, and he and Jackson left the plane.

**29DWN**

"Got any three's?"

As Eric asked this he lay back on the floor and stared up at the ceiling in obvious boredom.

"Go fish."

As Lex looked through his cards, Eric let out a long sigh and threw his hands in the air and his cards on the floor.

"This is so boring!" he cried. Lex sat up and put his own cards down as well. "I mean, there must be something we could do to pass all this time, even if it won't get us anywhere!"

"I don't think there is, Eric," Melissa said from the corner, where she was attempting to get the radio working, but she worked only half-heartenedly; they had long ago given up on picking up any kind of signal whatsoever. "I think we should just wait… and don't think I don't know what you're thinking, because I do, and I think we should find some other way of passing the time…"

Eric exchanged glances with Taylor, who shrugged and flopped down on the floor next to Lex. Eric grudgingly recognized defeat. "Fine," he said, but shot Melissa a glare all the same. If he could have it his way, they would be taking action…

**29DWN**

Hours later, Nathan and Jackson continued their trek through the rain and the wind and the jungle. They had been searching vigorously for Daley, but to no avail. It was beginning to get dark, and Jackson was beginning to worry.

"Nathan," Jackson said, "We've been searching all day, but there's been no sign of her. We should find somewhere to stay overnight-"

"No!" Nathan said suddenly, turning around to face Jackson. "Not yet! Jackson-"

"We'll keep looking tomorrow," Jackson said, giving him a meaningful look.

"Daley!" Nathan screamed, but no reply came. He sighed.

"Come on, Nathan," Jackson said, and, very reluctantly, Nathan agreed, though not before calling Daley's name one more time.

"Daley!" shouted again, his voice hoarse. He had been calling Daley's name all day, and he was getting used to hearing nothing but silence. Which was why he almost had a stroke when he got a respond.

"Nathan?" came an astonished voice.

Nathan's eyes lit up. He knew that voice…

"Daley?!" he cried. He spun around, and there she was. Unexplainable emotions spread through his entire body, and he gave a cry and ran at her. He swept her into his arms and spun her around in joy.

"Nathan!" Daley cried. She clung to him like she never had before, never wanting to let go. They simply held each other for a few minutes, and Jackson watched them happily, glad that his friends were finally reunited.

"Oh, Nathan, you're safe!" Daley cried happily.

"And you!" Nathan replied. "I managed to find my way back to camp, only to find out that you'd gone out looking for me… oh, Daley, I was scared to death that something might have happened to you… I'm just so glad you're alright!" he said, and held her closer to him.

After a few moments, Jackson cleared his throat and said, "Um, maybe we should think about finding somewhere to spend the night…"

"Oh, right," said Daley, pulling away from Nathan. "There's this little cave over there that I've been waiting out the storm in, come on," and she led the way to a small cave that was strewn with her belongings. There were even the remnants of a campfire in the corner. Outside the door to the hideaway was a small patch of land and then a cliff, which, judging by the looks of it, was at least a fifty- foot drop. Jackson peered down it wearily, and then followed Nathan and Daley inside, where they all soon fell asleep.

**29DWN**

Back at camp the next morning, Lex awoke early and looked around eagerly for any sign that Jackson, Daley, and Nathan had returned during the night, but he was soon disappointed. Their spots were empty and the plane was still. He suddenly looked out the window and gave a gasp of shock.

"Guys! Wake up!" he called, not moving from the window.

"Lex?" Melissa asked, looking over at him. "What is it?"

"The storm, it's stopped, look!" Lex cried, and Melissa and Taylor soon joined him at the window, followed by a dreary- looking Eric. However, he perked up when he looked out the window.

The storm had indeed stopped. Trees were bent, everything was soaked, and the few things they hadn't been able to fit inside the plane were strewn across the beach, but the wind and rain had stopped.

"It'll be easier for them now," Lex said with a smile.

"They'll be back today, Lex," Melissa told him. "I can feel it."

**29DWN**

"Nathan?"

Nathan slowly opened his eyes to see Daley in his arms, smiling up at him.

"Good morning," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead and pulling her closer.

'Yes," said Daley, snuggling up to him. "It is a good morning. The storm's stopped."

So it had. Nathan looked around as he sat up. It was cool and silent outside, and everything was shining with water. Jackson was at the fire, cooking three fish he had apparently just caught.

"Breakfast," he said when he noticed that they were awake.

They joined him at the fire and dug into the fish.

"I say we set off right away," Jackson said, finishing his own fish. "Even though the storm's stopped, we still need to figure out where we are."

The other two agreed. Jackson and Daley packed up all their belongings while Nathan went outside. After five or so minutes, Daley emerged from the cave, Jackson behind her. Nathan was standing on the edge of the cliff, throwing the remnants of their breakfast and other wastes over it.

'Nathan," Daley said, eyeing the wet ground cautiously, "Be careful over there…"

"Calm down, Daley, I'm f-"

But as he turned to face her, his foot slipped on a wet rock, and with a yell of shock he fell over the cliff and out of sight.

"NATHAN!" Daley screamed, running over to the edge of the cliff and trying to look down it. She felt herself lose her balance just as a strong pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her up.

"Daley, we can't have you falling over as well!"

Daley looked up into Jackson's face and saw, for the first time, fear in his eyes.

"We have to see if we can see him," he said, letting go of Daley, getting down on his hands and knees, and looking cautiously over the edge. Daley followed him. After a few minutes, Jackson shouted, "There!" and pointed.

Nathan was lying crumpled on the ground below, his eyes shut and his body motionless.

Daley tore her eyes away from him to look around for some way of getting down to him, and she found a hill some twenty yards away that led to the ground below.

"Come on," Jackson said, spotting it too, and he grabbed her hand. The two of them sprinted down the hill, over the rubble and rocks littered everywhere, and they finally reached Nathan.

"No," Daley whispered.

Nathan was bleeding heavily from the head and his leg seemed to be broken. His whole body was covered in bruises and cuts, and he looked so fragile that Daley didn't dare touch him.

"Daley," Jackson's urgent voice said. "The first- aid kit."

She sprinted over to where they had dropped their packs, ripped Jackson's open, pulled out the first- aid kit and brought it back to Jackson. They bandaged Nathan's head as best as they could, but it continued to bleed.

"We need to get him back to camp," Jackson said, as calmly as he could manage.

"What, and move him?" Daley asked. "That could only make him worse!"

"It's his only hope," Jackson said gravely, and Daley nodded, knowing that he was right.

"Alright, do you know your way back to camp from here?" Daley nodded again after looking carefully around her. "Good. Take our gear and run back to warn the others. I'll bring him," Jackson finished. Very carefully, he wrapped his arms around Nathan and lifted him up.

"Be careful, won't you?" Daley asked, turning back to look at Nathan.

"Don't worry," Jackson reassured her. "I'll get him back to camp safe, Day, I promise."

Daley nodded and then turned and sprinted up the hill and out of sight, Jackson following as quickly as he could, but slow enough to not bring further harm to Nathan.

**29DWN**

_He has to be alright, he has to be! _Daley thought as she sprinted through the jungle. _If he isn't…_

She didn't even want to think about what could happen to Nathan. She just ran and ran, until she finally broke through the trees and emerged in camp.

"Help!" she cried, running around frantically, looking for a sign of any of her friends, but she didn't have to look long; she came across Taylor and Melissa, who had apparently just re-pitched the tent.

"Daley!" Taylor cried, spotting her.

"What's going on? Are you alright?" Melissa asked, rushing over to her.

"It's not me you've got to worry about!" Daley gasped. "It's Nathan!"

"What about Nathan?" came Eric's voice. He had just come over, Lex right behind him.

"He's hurt! He's fallen off a cliff and he's unconscious, Jackson's bringing him now-"

"Get everything ready!" Lex said, and at once Melissa, Taylor, and Eric hurried away, knowing exactly what to do. Daley dug the first- aid kit back out of the pack. Lex kept asking her questions about Nathan's condition that she didn't really want to answer, for they made her think of all the bad things that might happen to him. But she was saved the trouble when Jackson came hurrying into camp, carrying Nathan as gingerly as he could.

"Put him in the plane, quick!" Lex said, grabbing the first- aid kit, and Jackson immediately obeyed, the rest following him.

Lex examined Nathan and tended to him as best as he could. Then he told all the others but Melissa to leave the tent, which they did, reluctantly. Daley strode over to a tree, sat down on the ground, and cried. She knew that if Lex didn't want the others in the tent to witness whatever it was he was doing to help Nathan, things couldn't be looking good.

All she could do was sob for Nathan and try not to think the worst. After a while, Jackson sat down next to her, took one look into her tear- filled eyes and engulfed her into his arms. They sat there for awhile, holding each other for what seemed like hours, until Melissa approached and said, "Lex wants everyone in the plane."

Daley and Jackson both jumped up and followed her into the plane, where Taylor and Eric were already sitting with Nathan and Lex. Daley immediately went to Nathan's side and looked at Lex, who, in turn, looked around at everyone else.

"Well?" Jackson asked anxiously, finding his voice before any of the others.

"Will he be alright?" asked Eric softly.

Lex and Melissa exchanged glances, and Lex finally said, "I think he'll survive, but…" he paused as he gazed at Nathan. "But… there's no way of knowing for sure. And if he does, he's still sustained major head injuries, and those will definitely need time to heal. Which means, he may not be himself for awhile, and he'll be weak, and he may not remember who he is, any of us, or even the crash." He avoided everyone else's eyes as he spoke.

"So, we're just supposed to wait?" asked Taylor fearfully.

"Yes," Lex said. "Only time will tell what will happen…"

"How long until we know… for sure?" Daley asked.

"I don't know, Day," Lex said sadly. "He's gone into a coma; it could take as long as weeks for anything to happen…" He broke off.

They all looked down at Nathan, who was once so energetic, eager to help others, and full of life, and now lay weak and helpless, and nothing could be done to help him. The idea that he might never wake up was too much for any of them to handle, and so they all decided to brace themselves for the foggy future, where anything could happen.

**There it is! I hope you guys liked it! Thanks so much for all the reviews and for sticking with this story for as long as some of you did. Sorry, I know so many of you didn't want anything bad to happen to Nathan, but I had a good reason. I'd been planning to do it from the very beginning, so I wasn't about to back down. Plus, it will make the sequel much more interesting. I'm already writing it, and it will probably be called Hope (but I'm not entirely sure yet). It'll continue where Trust left off, but I'm not sure when it'll be up. I start school in a few days (no!) and then I'm going camping, but I'll work on it after that. I'll post more details about it soon. Thanks again, guys!**


	10. Sequel!

**Hey guys! Just letting you know that the sequel's up! It is called ****Hope**** and I really hope you like it! Thanks for everything!**


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